Created excel drop down list

1. In a new worksheet, type the entries you want to appear in your drop-down list. Ideally, you’ll have your list items in an
   Excel table
   . If you don’t, then you can quickly convert your list to a table by selecting any cell in the range, and pressing
   
   Ctrl+T
   
   .

   

   Notes: 

   • Why should you put your data in a table? When your data is in a table, then as you
     add or remove items from the list
     , any drop-downs you based on that table will automatically update. You don’t need to do anything else.

   • Now is a good time to
     Sort data in a range or table
     in your drop-down list.

2. Select the cell in the worksheet where you want the drop-down list.

3. Go to the
   
   Data
   
   tab on the Ribbon, then
   
   Data Validation
   
   .

   Note: 
   If you can’t click
   
   Data Validation
   
   , the worksheet might be protected or shared.
   Unlock specific areas of a protected workbook
   or stop sharing the worksheet, and then try step 3 again.

4. On the
   
   Settings
   
   tab, in the
   
   Allow
   
   box, click
   
   List
   
   .

5. Click in the
   
   Source
   
   box, then select your list range. We put ours on a sheet called Cities, in range A2:A9. Note that we left out the header row, because we don’t want that to be a selection option:

   

6. If it’s OK for people to leave the cell empty, check the
   
   Ignore blank
   
   box.

7. Check the
   
   In-cell dropdown
   
   box.

8. Click the
   
   Input Message
   
   tab.

   • If you want a message to pop up when the cell is clicked, check the
     
     Show input message when cell is selected
     
     box, and type a title and message in the boxes (up to 225 characters). If you don’t want a message to show up, clear the check box.

     

9. Click the
   
   Error Alert
   
   tab.

   • If you want a message to pop up when someone enters something that’s not in your list, check the
     
     Show error alert after invalid data is entered
     
     box, pick an option from the
     
     Style
     
     box, and type a title and message. If you don’t want a message to show up, clear the check box.

     

10. Not sure which option to pick in the
    
    Style
    
    box?

    • To show a message that doesn’t stop people from entering data that isn’t in the drop-down list, click
      
      Information
      
      or Warning. Information will show a message with this icon
      
      and Warning will show a message with this icon
      
      .

    • To stop people from entering data that isn’t in the drop-down list, click
      
      Stop
      
      .

      Note: 
      If you don’t add a title or text, the title defaults to «Microsoft Excel» and the message to: «The value you entered is not valid. A user has restricted values that can be entered into this cell.»

Data entry is quicker and more accurate when you restrict values in a cell to choices from a drop-down list.

Start by making a list of valid entries on a sheet, and sort or rearrange the entries so that they appear in the order you want. Then you can use the entries as the source for your drop-down list of data. If the list is not large, you can easily refer to it and type the entries directly into the data validation tool.

1. Create a list of valid entries for the drop-down list, typed on a sheet in a single column or row without blank cells.

2. Select the cells that you want to restrict data entry in.

3. On the
   
   Data
   
   tab, under
   
   Tools
   
   , click
   
   Data Validation
   
   or
   
   Validate
   
   .

   

   Note: 
   If the validation command is unavailable, the sheet might be protected or the workbook may be shared. You cannot change data validation settings if your workbook is shared or your sheet is protected. For more information about workbook protection, see
   Protect a workbook
   .

4. Click the
   
   Settings
   
   tab, and then in the
   
   Allow
   
   pop-up menu, click
   
   List
   
   .

5. Click in the
   
   Source
   
   box, and then on your sheet, select your list of valid entries.

   The dialog box minimizes to make the sheet easier to see.

6. Press RETURN or click the
   
   Expand
   
   button to restore the dialog box, and then click
   
   OK
   
   .

   Tips: 

   • You can also type values directly into the
     
     Source
     
     box, separated by a comma.

   • To modify the list of valid entries, simply change the values in the source list or edit the range in the
     
     Source
     
     box.

   • You can specify your own error message to respond to invalid data inputs. On the
     
     Data
     
     tab, click
     
     Data Validation
     
     or
     
     Validate
     
     , and then click the
     
     Error Alert
     
     tab.

1. In a new worksheet, type the entries you want to appear in your drop-down list. Ideally, you’ll have your list items in an
   Excel table
   .

   Notes: 

   • Why should you put your data in a table? When your data is in a table, then as you
     add or remove items from the list
     , any drop-downs you based on that table will automatically update. You don’t need to do anything else.

   • Now is a good time to
     Sort your data in the order you want it to appear
     in your drop-down list.

2. Select the cell in the worksheet where you want the drop-down list.

3. Go to the
   
   Data
   
   tab on the Ribbon, then click
   
   Data Validation
   
   .

4. On the
   
   Settings
   
   tab, in the
   
   Allow
   
   box, click
   
   List
   
   .

5. If you already made a table with the drop-down entries, click in the
   
   Source
   
   box, and then click and drag the cells that contain those entries. However, do not include the header cell. Just include the cells that should appear in the drop-down. You can also just type a list of entries in the
   
   Source
   
   box, separated by a comma like this:

   
   Fruit,Vegetables,Grains,Dairy,Snacks
   

6. If it’s OK for people to leave the cell empty, check the
   
   Ignore blank
   
   box.

7. Check the
   
   In-cell dropdown
   
   box.

8. Click the
   
   Input Message
   
   tab.

   • If you want a message to pop up when the cell is clicked, check the
     
     Show message
     
     checkbox, and type a title and message in the boxes (up to 225 characters). If you don’t want a message to show up, clear the check box.

9. Click the
   
   Error Alert
   
   tab.

   • If you want a message to pop up when someone enters something that’s not in your list, check the
     
     Show Alert
     
     checkbox, pick an option in
     
     Type
     
     , and type a title and message. If you don’t want a message to show up, clear the check box.

10. Click
    
    OK
    
    .

After you create your drop-down list, make sure it works the way you want. For example, you might want to check to see if
Change the column width and row height
to show all your entries. If you decide you want to change the options in your drop-down list, see
Add or remove items from a drop-down list
. To delete a drop-down list, see
Remove a drop-down list
.